Bhairahawa overcame Region No 1 Biratnagar by three wickets while Baitadi defeated Region No 3 Kathmandu by 12 runs.[break]
In the match played at Engineering Ground Pulchowk, Shankar Rana´s unbeaten 70 runs helped the team chase the total of 166 runs in 29.1 overs. Winning the toss, Biratnagar opted to bat first and scored 165 runs losing all wickets in 34.1 overs.
Opener Mukund Yadav and Rajiv BK shared 58-runs partnership for Biratnagar. BK (13) was back to the pavilion in the 10th over. Yadav scored 32 runs off 32 balls with six boundaries. Skipper Mayanand Chaudhary scored 36 runs off 42 balls with three boundaries and a six.
Iklakh Ahmed and Rupesh Bastola grabbed three wickets each for Bhairahawa while Bishal Sunuwar, Shankar Rana and Kushal Bhurtel took a wicket each.
In chasing the total of 166 runs, Bhairahawa did not start well. A 91-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Shankar Rana and Rupesh Bastola guided Bhairahawa to victory.
Rana scored 70 runs off 63 balls with six boundaries and a huge six while Bastola scored 38 runs off 43 balls with four boundaries. Mehboob Babu Karki grabbed three wickets while Kalicharan Yadhav took two wickets.
In another match played at TU ground Kirtipur, Baitadi won the toss and posted a huge total of 210 runs losing all the wickets in 35.5 overs. Bhim Sarki was the star of the match as he scored 57 runs off 48 balls with nine boundaries. Manoj Chand scored quick fire 22 runs off 12 balls with a boundary and two sixes.
Dipesh Poudel and Pranil Karki grabbed three wickets each while Ajay Verma and Rajkumar Karki shared two wickets each.
Chasing the total of 211 runs, Kathmandu started well as they shared 82-run partnership for the first wicket. Opener Jeevan Lamsal (43) was the first batsman Kathmandu lost. Mohammad Shaid and Adil Khan shared 58-run partnership for the second wicket.
With the fall of Adil Khan in the 28th over, Kathmandu continued to lose wickets in regular intervals. Khan scored 60 runs off 69 balls with six boundaries and Shahid scored 23 runs off 41 balls. Kathmandu managed to score 198 runs losing nine wickets in 40 overs.
Man-of-the-match Bhim Sarki and Dipendra Chand grabbed three wickets each while Bikash Bam took a wicket.
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